Curiosity Killed the Cat
by WildChild0303
Summary: James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew. These are the marauders we know and love, I have added one more: Alexandra Ripley, she's mysterious, tough and more than a little pleased to meet a group of boys who are almost as troublesomely inclined and quick witted as she is. It's much easier to stick your nose where it shouldn't be when you've got a decoy team...


If you're reading this, you most likely know who the Marauders are.

James Potter: messy, jet black hair, round-rimmed glasses and a knack for Quidditch.

Sirius Black: hated by his family and determined to stay that way; playful, motorcycle-loving and devilishly handsome.

Remus Lupin: sad, scarred and cursed, saved only by the friendship of a few troublemakers.

Peter Pettigrew: pitied, and nothing more.

These are the Marauders we know and -at least in my case- love. In this story, I have added one more:

Alexandra Ripley, she's mysterious, tough and more than a little pleased to meet a group of boys who are almost as troublesomely inclined and quick witted as she is. It's much easier to stick your nose where it shouldn't be when you've got a whole team of decoys…

BANG!

The compartment door was violently forced open.

A tall girl with a long jet-black ponytail stood before them. Her hair fell to her waist, and she had blunt bangs. She had already donned her school robes, and underneath the dark hem you could see what looked like the toes of large black leather boots.

'Can I sit here?'

Her voice, like her face, seemed bitter. It also lacked the English accent that the four boys who were sitting in the compartment were used to; instead it carried a flat American-English accent.

'Everywhere else is filled with either jerks or idiots.'

'Well, we're flattered that you count us as neither,' Sirius said in his most charismatic voice. Sirius was the one who was taking up an entire row of seats with his outstretched legs; the one with the handsome face and wavy black locks.

She looked at him, seemingly sizing him up. Sirius couldn't help but notice how feline her icy blue, and now narrowed eyes were.

'No,' she said slowly, bringing herself up to an impressive full height, 'I just thought that the two traits might cancel each other out.'

Two of the other boys chuckled, while the skinny, scarred one muttered, 'Clever' through his small smile. Sirius merely let a handsome grin split his face.

Without waiting for further consent, she sat down in the small space between Sirius's feet and the glass door of the compartment.

'I guess you changed your mind about _asking_ us whether you could sit here or not,' James chortled under his breath. He was the one with the uncontrollably messy hair and round glasses.

'Yeah, I did…' and then she added, almost as an afterthought, 'unless you're You-Know-Who supporters, in which case I'll hex you and then find a different compartment to sit in,' then she fixed them each with a chilly glare.

'Don't worry we're not,' reassured Peter, the stout one.

'And we're not filthy Slytherin-lovers either,' added Sirius glancing around. He seemed to be daring his fellow first-years to contradict him, but everyone seemed to agree in heart-whole.

'Good,' said the mysterious girl.

'Yeah,' laughed Sirius, 'I'll be a Gryffindor if I have to get down on my knees and beg that dilapidated old hat.'

'Why so bent on Gryffindor?' asked the girl, her face expressionless.

'Because being a Gryffindor will piss my parents off the most.'

The swearing obviously made Peter uncomfortable and he shifted in his seat, they were only 11 after all. It didn't seem to bother the girl though, and something almost like a smile played on the her lips.

'I'm also planning on taking muggle studies in my third year just for kicks,' he added.

'My name is Alexandra Ripley,' she said suddenly after a short pause, 'But don't call me that. If you do, I can not be held responsible for my actions. You can call me Alex.'

'Well, I'm Sirius Black, and I will allow you to call me that,' he chuckled, 'although, Black is not a name I wear with pride.'

'I'm James Potter,' said James adjusting his glasses, 'and this is Peter Pettigrew,' he added, jabbing his thumb towards the boy in the corner. Peter made a small wave.

'Remus Lupin,' said the scarred boy across from her in a soft voice. He stuck out his hand to shake.

She took his hand firmly in her own and shook it, then asked, 'So, were you guys all friends before this or, do we all happen to be looking for a compartment that's free of jerks, idiots, Slytherin-lovers, and You-Know-Who supporters?'

As it turns out, Peter and James knew each other previously, because both of their mothers worked in the ministry; other than that, though, they were just doing introductions when she walked in.

'Would anybody like some chocolate?' asked Remus rather suddenly, 'It's a muggle sweet, but it's quite good, and a personal favourite of mine.'

'Muggle sweet?' inquired Sirius, 'Sure, I'll have some. Then I'll write home about how I enjoyed it.'

The rest of the ride passed quite pleasantly. They munched on Remus's chocolate and listened to Sirius and James tell their tales of troublesome adventuring. Alex asked questions and inserted her opinions at just the right moments, and Peter gasped at their scandals as the different landscapes zoomed past through the train window.

The boys came to know Alexandra Ripley as a curious, tenacious girl and a middle child. She was forced to move away from her home in America, on a last minute's notice. Her Grandmother's health had dramatically plummeted and since her Grandpa was in no state to care for her on his own, Alex, her two brothers and mother had no choice but to move in with them. Unfortunately, there was a catch, the Ripleys had already been made the care takers of Alex's Great-Aunt Ellietta which meant that she had to come along as well. This, Alex's mother, Tyra thought, was an inconvenient but doable catch. So, it came to be that Alex, just three days away from going to Ilvermorny for her first time - Ilvermorny, the school she had heard so much about from her elder brother Dylan - was whisked to England with the rest of her family to take care of her sick Grandma.

She had even purchased her wand before they left, and she showed it to the boys on the train. It was sycamore with a thunderbird feather core. You couldn't buy thunderbird feather wands at Ollivander's, which was where all the boys had bought theirs.

Yes, Alex told them all about the injustice: A girl with her brand-new wand and all the rest of her supplies packed up and ready to go to Ilvermorny, had the destiny she had been expecting ripped from her hands and had instead been given a new one for which she was completely unprepared.

Unfortunately, the expected destiny depriving did not end there. It became apparent, as they stepped out of her Grandparents fireplace, that, in his over-excited urgency, her Grandfather had called upon all three of his children to come to England and help him. When it was suggested that somebody, anybody went back home, Alex's grandfather insisted that the family had to stay. All of them.

This left poor Alex in one large house with a tired mom, a know-it-all big brother, a bratty little one, a harsh Aunt, a grumpy squib Uncle, a needy Grandmother, a troublesome Grandfather, and an eccentric Great-Aunt. Although slightly bitter to be going to Hogwarts instead of Ilvermorny, Alex was astronomically relieved to be on a train speeding away from the lot of them.

They were all laughing at a particularly funny (albeit inappropriate) joke that Sirius had made when a girl with dark red hair stalked past their compartment. James' eyes followed her until he was staring into the back of his seat.

'Who was that?' he asked when he finally turned back around to face his company.

Alex gave a soft laugh of distaste. It sounded surprisingly like a soft 'meow', adding to her cat like features.

'Lily Evans, I think her name was. She told me that I was suffocating my owl back at the station.' She gestured to, what looked like an owl cage that was covered with a black, woolen blanket.

'What she doesn't know,' Alex continued, 'is that he hoots like he's being tortured if he's not either outside or in complete darkness, so she should really keep her opinions to herself.'

'Lily Evans,' James muttered to himself, distractedly.

'And she's always hanging out with that slimy boy…' continued Alex, 'what's his name…Severus…yes, that's it, Severus Snape. He's definitely going into Slytherin.'

'How do you know?' asked Peter.

He fancied that being able to tell what houses people are going to be in would be a useful skill to have.

'Because with some people,' she said turning to Peter, 'you just know.'

'Heh, Severus Snape,' she thought to herself. 'More like Snivellus,' she added louder.

'Snivellus?' said James, 'Oh, I like that.'

The competition glinting in his eyes was very visible indeed.

When Remus asked Alex how she came upon all this information Alex said, 'I'm nosy and perceptive. The result of those two traits together is lot of information.'

A few minutes later the train had arrived at its destination and screeched to a halt. Once they had managed to make their way off the crowded train a cool evening breeze whipped their new school robes around their ankles.

'Are you nervous?' Remus whispered.

Alex, who was the first to reply shook her head and said, 'Nah, we don't get nervous, do we?'

Sirius and James agreed, punching Remus in the forearm, but Peter remained silent.

The silhouette of a huge man with a shaggy beard bellowed above the excited chatter,

'FIRST YEARS! FIRST YEARS, THIS WAY!'

Following the light of the lantern that the bearded man held, the new-found friends fought their way through the crowd of students who were chattering loudly.

As soon as he had gathered all the first years, the towering man began to lead them forward. He then guided them around a corner.

'Well,' he said, 'There ye' are. That there is Hogwarts.'

Before them stood the most magnificent castle they would ever behold. Towers that reached up into the sky and beyond, golden specs of light shimmering through the distant windows flickering like fireflies that had landed on a picturesque oil painting. Upon rounding the corner there was a general, 'Ooh,' from the entourage of first-years.

Remus could be heard whispering a simple, 'Wow,' with his eyes aglow.

As Alex and the four boys tried to fit into one of the rickety little boats that were meant to take them across the wide, black lake, it soon became apparent that the boats were not meant to carry five people at once. It was not this fact, however, that stopped them from trying; it was the gargantuan man who made them halt, '-Ah-, no more'n four per boat if you don' mind.'

After small discussion, Sirius and Alex decided to split off and take their own boat.

Sirius slapped his hand on James' shoulder and said, 'See you up at the castle.'

Then flashing them one last troublesome grin over his shoulder, Sirius joined the boat that Alex had chosen.

They were also joined by an odd girl with round spectacles that enlarged her eyes so much that she looked quite like an insect. When she joined them, Sirius and Alex eyed each other and suppressed their sniggers.

'FORWARD' bellowed the huge man suddenly. The boats lurched, then began their slow path towards the looming castle ahead.

Sirius glanced over at the boat carrying the other boys. He caught the eyes of Remus and Peter and waved, but James' eyes were fixed on a boat ahead of them. The boat he was captivated by carried a girl with dark red hair. She was accompanied by a boy with an over sized nose and a sheet of greasy black hair that obscured most of his face. The pair were quietly whispering and pointing together. The look on James' face was one of utter disgust.

Sirius laughed quietly to himself and then turned to Alex who was looking at the water with distain.

'I heard,' he whispered dramatically into her ear, 'that a giant squid resides in these very waters.'

She rolled her eyes and turned to him, 'If that creature so much as touches this boat, I will hex it to the moon and back.'

With that she returned the watching the glassy, rippling surface of the dark lake.

'Not a swimmer then?' asked Sirius.

Alex made one of her soft catlike laughs.

'No, not a swimmer.'

Sirius gave her a nudge that was purely playful but made the boat rock softly back and forth. She turned to face him full on.

'Black, I will knock you off this boat.'

At first, he thought she was being sincere, but then he noticed the playful grin dance on her face.

_I think you and I are going to get along just fine, _Sirius thought to himself.

'So, you're going to call me Black now, not Sirius?' he asked conversationally.

She considered this for a moment then said,

'Yes, I would rather call you Black.'

'Just as a cruel reminder of my blood or…' he trailed off, hoping that she would finish his sentence for him.

'Yes,' she paused, looking straight into his eyes, 'something like that.'

'Well, I'm going to give you a nickname then,' he said definitively. 'Yes, and I think because calling me 'Black' is so _over_ formal I will give you an _under_ formal nickname. Something like…' he trailed off, putting on the expression of a genius mind at work 'Al…?'

'Don't' said Alex darkly

'Aly…"

'Black' she said warningly.

'Aly-Al!'

'NO'

'Yes! That's it! It's a winner, it's a classic!'

'I am warning you, Black. _Don't you dare_ call me Aly-Al.'

But it was too late. Sirius had made up his mind. No longer was she Alexandra; the only name that would ever represent her to Sirius Black, was Aly-Al.


End file.
